She was lovely, very lovely, with long dark hair that wound around her shoulders and arms. Her body was slim, very slender, with a supple grace to it that made him stare, accustomed as he was to various forms of anatomy. How silent she was! Silent and unmoving, staring down at the water. Time passed, strange, unchanging time, as he watched the girl. Time might even have ceased, with the girl sitting on the rock staring into the water, and the rows of great ferns behind her, as rigid as if they had been painted there. All at once the girl looked up. Harris shifted, suddenly conscious of himself as an intruder. He stepped back. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm from the Garrison. I didn't mean to come poking around." She nodded without speaking. "You don't mind?" Harris asked presently. "No." So she spoke Terran! He moved a little toward her, around the side of the pool. "I hope you don't mind my bothering you. I won't be on the asteroid very long. This is my first day here. I just arrived from Terra." She smiled faintly. "I'm a doctor. Henry Harris." He looked down at her, at the slim coppery body, gleaming in the sunlight, a faint sheen of moisture on her arms and thighs. "You might be interested in why I'm here." He paused. "Maybe you can even help me." She looked up a little. "Oh?" "Would you like to help me?" She smiled. "Yes. Of course." "That's good. Mind if I sit down?" He looked around and found himself a flat rock. He sat down slowly, facing her. "Cigarette?" "No." "Well, I'll have one." He lit up, taking a deep breath. "You see, we have a problem at the Garrison. Something has been happening to some of the men, and it seems to be spreading. We have to find out what causes it or we won't be able to run the Garrison." * * * * * He waited for a moment. She nodded slightly. How silent she was! Silent and unmoving. Like the ferns. "Well, I've been able to find out a few things from them, and one very interesting fact stands out. They keep saying that something called--called The Pipers are responsible for their condition. They say the Pipers taught them--" He stopped. A strange look had flitted across her dark, small face. "Do you know the Pipers?" She nodded. Acute satisfaction flooded over Harris. "You do? I was sure the natives would know." He stood up again. "I was sure they would, if the Pipers really existed. Then they do exist, do they?" "They exist." Harris frowned. "And they're here, in the woods?" "Yes." "I see." He ground his cigarette out impatiently. "You don't suppose there's any chance you could take me to them, do you?" "Take you?" "Yes. I have this problem and I have to solve it. You see, the Base Commander on Terra has assigned this to me, this business about the Pipers. It has to be solved. And I'm the one assigned to the job. So it's important to me to find them. Do you see? Do you understand?" She nodded. "Well, will you take me to them?"